On 3 July 2010, I attended a Melt And Pour Soap Making Workshop that was conducted by Susan, a Korean lady from JM company.

Many of us enjoyed this DIY and the hands-on experience was both creative and fun. Besides having a great time with this melt and pour soap making technique, we were also excited and simply could not wait to take back and use the soap that we made. Knowing that it is very moisturizing for the skin only adds to the excitement.

The soap base that we used was a natural soap with no added nasty chemicals. It also has its natural glycerin retained, a moisturizing by-product from soap making. Unlike commercially made soap, it is said that glycerin is harvested for use in other products such as lotions. What you end up with could very well be just detergent that is drying for your skin. Here at the workshop, we made the soap even better by adding Glycerin for hydration and Vitamin E oil for skin protection against UV rays, which also acts as a natural preservative.

There are a few different soap making techniques out there and choosing one over another will depend on what you want. Techniques such as Cold Process, Hot Process, Cold Process Oven Process, and so on.

Melt and Pour is one of the safer and simpler techniques. Susan said that even kids can do it and some ended up wih soap bars that were even better than adults. It is also a versatile technique that allows you to get creative and incorporate various ideas into your soap. Such as embedding seashell ornaments, adding oatmeal, lavender buds and playing with layers of different coloured soap. The possibilities are indeed endless. And sometimes, the line between practicality and art is blurred, so much so that some will start to ponder if they should use the soap or display it as a decorative item in the house.

If you want to make good natural soap for yourself and your family, the Melt And Pour Soap technique is a good way to go. You get to decide what goes into your soap, the way it smells, and in the shape that you like. How cool is that! =)

Susan’s workshop is conducted in Singapore. If you are interested, you can check out:
Jayeon Miyin – Melt And Pour Soap Making workshop

And here are some of the pictures taken at this workshop.

The ingredients are the Soap Base, both in opaque and translucent form, colorants in powder form, vegetable glycerin, vitamin E oil and essential oil.

We cut the soap base into small cubes, put them into a stainless steel container and place it in a boiling water bath. While the soap cubes are melting, we prepared a mixture of colorant, vegetable glycerin, vitamin E oil and essential oil.

I like things natural and so I went for the finely grounded green bean powder that gives a tinge of yellowish green in my soap. Once the soap base melted completely, we added in the mixture and stir.

Susan provided us with beautiful and impressive molds. The pink silicon mold which I was holding in my hand will yield 2 beautiful soaps in the shape of a rose. Once my mixture is ready, I poured it into the molds followed by a quick and light spray of an alcohol solution from the side to clear the bubbles in the soap. We were to leave it undisturbed while it hardens.

While waiting for the soap in the molds to set and firm up, we had an interesting and informative discussion with Susan.

I learned from her that in Korea, some housewives make their own soap from scratch at home. In fact, a lot of people from all over the world, such as Taiwan, United States, United Kingdom and Australia are all making their own soap. Most of the time, what started them off to do their own soap was due to skin sensitivity to commercial products. Or for good reasons such as not wanting to expose themselves to toxic chemicals in personal care products.

It was also very interesting to learn that breast milk can be incorporated into soap for wonderful skin benefits.

Used cooking oil can also be turned into soap. And you know what? They are great for house cleansing and laundry purposes. I think this is a brilliant recycling act that can help to save the environment at the same time.

Around the world, people have been recycling used cooking oil into soap. In Singapore, I am actually very proud to learn that a Project GREASE team from Raffles Girl Secondary school is doing the same, campaigning for an oil to soap recycling movement. =)

Check out our soap! Did you notice the pair of pink colored shoe? It was so impressive. And everyone was so mesmerized by this little pair of pink boots. I believe they were all secretly envying the young lady. I was one of them. =D

A friendly soap exchange. =)

There you go! The sweet young lady in pink is the creator of the pink boots soap.

I am glad I found this workshop and I have enjoyed myself. The soap felt really great and moisturizing. And personally, it is a great feeling knowing that I do not need to rely on commercial soap and that I am using something safe. You should try it too. =)